As I am writing this during the 75^th anniversary year of the State of Israel, on Wednesday, March 8, 2023—International Women’s Day—I would like to pay tribute to the outstanding women who have contributed to the growth and success of our International Women’s Division of Israel Bonds, and to the State of Israel in general.

Although women have been major builders of the Israel Bonds organization since its founding in 1951, International Women’s Division, as a separate entity, is quite young. We began in the spring of 2019 with Mexico City, and quickly grew to today’s eight very active and engaged Women’s Division councils in London, Paris, Lyon, Frankfurt, Berlin, Mexico City, Sao Paulo, and Rio de Janeiro. Each city is led by a lay chairperson, each of whom is a champion!

Most of the chairs established their local councils from scratch. They enthusiastically encouraged like-minded friends and associates who support the State of Israel to join them, bringing creative and interesting speakers to events held under the banner of International Women’s Division. For some events, they partnered with charities, thereby enhancing the amazing support to local and Israeli organizations.

The aim of Women’s Division is to educate others about Israel Bonds, to significantly increase the direct investment in Israel Bonds by women and, most importantly, to provide leaders and role models both for their current respective communities, and for the generation to come.

Some of our events are small and intimate, while others are larger – but each is targeted to its own local and cultural interests. London Women’s Division recently held a private viewing of The Rosalinde and Arthur Gilbert Collection at the Victoria & Albert Museum, with personal insights from our chair, Gillian Perry. In Paris, our chair, Catherine Lacrosniere, held an intimate conversation with Alexis Morel, vice-president of the French multinational company, THALES. And in Mexico City, Linda Sirazi and her team held a wine-tasting event with a well-known sommelier. This community also ran programmes in Jewish day schools, educating students about Israel Bonds.

I am proud of my involvement with Israel Bonds and see evidence daily that women play a key role in its efforts to strengthen the bond between Israel and the Diaspora.

In accordance with the adage that all journeys begin with a single step, International Women’s Division has taken great strides; and continuing progress was achieved through the efforts of women like those in Mexico City, who refused even to consider that women should not be at the forefront of an international effort to support and bond with the Jewish state.

In International Women’s Division, we are focused on Israel, but we are also all about highlighting the hugely important role that women have played and are playing in the remarkable success of the country and the world at large. As we have learned and highlighted in our programming, women are increasingly leading the way in Israeli high tech, journalism, law, medicine and science, as well as in art and culture, such as the incredibly inspiring and accomplished women featured in this recent JPost article.

Today is appropriately called International Women’s Day because an international lens is truly required to appreciate the scope of the many roles and achievements of women. That is particularly true of Israel, where, in seventy-five short years, we have created a society that is truly the envy of many in the world. And it was done by recognizing that women are equal partners in the endeavour. All of us try in our own ways to make the world a better place for our families and our people, and one of the most significant aspects of that striving is to pass on to the next generations our values and the knowledge we have gained, often through trial and error.

Israel Bonds will not be the only vehicle by which we contribute to the growth and success of the State of Israel, but it is an important one. And, on International Women’s Day, it is with pride and a feeling of strong hope for the future that we acknowledge the positive societal shifts brought about by the efforts of Israeli women. We hope, too, that the efforts made by International Women’s Division will help both to perpetuate that success, and to establish a legacy of leadership for our daughters and granddaughters in the future.

1. Having the opportunity to engage and educate women about the importance and benefits of investing in the State of Israel continually keeps Laura, our International Women’s Division chair, wanting to do more. Born in South Africa, Laura emigrated to NYC after university and worked as a senior manager for one of the largest American international corporate travel agencies. She emigrated a second time in 1989 to Toronto after marrying her Canadian husband and raised three children, all of whom served in the IDF. Laura helped to establish the highly successful and often replicated Toronto Israel Bonds Bar/Bat Mitzvah program. She subsequently became chair of Women’s Division, Toronto, and thereafter, International Chair of Women’s Division – the first to chair both the U.S. and International regions. Laura is a member of the International Board of Directors of Association for Development of Israel. Laura has also served on the board of Canada’s largest synagogue and has chaired and run various programs with multiple Jewish organizations. In 2018, Laura made aliyah (third emigration) and currently lives in Tel Aviv.